Nobody Was Frustrated: The Promise and Problem of Synthetic Users in UX Research

First event of the 2026/2027 season!
Join us as we kick off this new season with a talk about whether AI-generated participants can really stand in for real ones.

Nobody Was Frustrated: The Promise and Problem of Synthetic Users in UX Research
by Dominira Saul (Founder & Principal at DFFRNT)

Generative AI is making it possible to create hundreds of seemingly realistic research participants in seconds. Synthetic users can answer interview questions, react to designs, complete surveys, simulate personas, and even attempt usability tasks at a fraction of the time and cost of conventional user research.
But are we actually learning about users,
or generating plausible stories about them?
This talk explores the rapidly emerging use of synthetic users in UX research, examining both their considerable potential and their methodological limitations. Drawing on recent HCI research and empirical comparisons between human and AI-generated participants, Dominira Saul will explore where synthetic users appear genuinely useful, where they fail to reproduce human behaviour, and why convincing responses should not necessarily be mistaken for valid research evidence.
The talk will consider applications ranging from synthetic personas and simulated interviews to usability evaluation and behavioural prediction, and propose a practical framework for deciding when synthetic users can augment UX research, and when real humans remain indispensable.
At its heart is a simple question: If nobody actually experienced the interface, can we call it user research?

Dominira Saul is a UX strategist, researcher, educator, and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience designing better products, services, and organzations through human-centred design.

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About The Venue
Impact Hub Ottawa is situated on the 7th floor of a high-rise building and at 7pm the entry doors on the ground floor/street level lock automatically. If you arrive late, please send a message to +1-613-655-2238 for entry.

By signing up and attending this event, you agree to allow photos to be taken during the session for future promotional use.

Water, tea and coffee are provided for free, but food will not be available. You are welcome to bring your own snack. No alcoholic beverages please. If you like to head out for a drink afterwards, there are various options near by to do so.

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Our Sponsors
We are extremely grateful to these organizations for their generous support of CapCHI and the local design, HCI and UX community.

DFFRNT
We’re an exceptional team of highly experienced behavioural researchers and design strategists. We apply a fundamental understanding of human behaviour, strategic design and human-computer interaction to deliver product and service design value.

Outwitly
Outwitly is more than a UX recruitment agency. We’re your strategic design partner. We help you hire exceptional UXers, service designers, and researchers — with ongoing support from our own design experts to ensure lasting impact.

Impact HUB Ottawa
Impact HUB is Ottawa's coworking space for social impact where consultants, non-profits, social entrepreneurs and small business owners like you get the workspaces, services, and experts you need to do good better.